Drought update for Kansas - July 6, 2018

Precipitation summary

Spotty rainfall fell across Kansas again this week. The Northwest Division had the highest percent of normal with an average of 1.01 inches or 150 percent of normal. The Southwest Division came in with the lowest precipitation, with an average of 0.02 inches, or 2 percent of normal. Statewide average precipitation was 0.73 inches, which was 71 percent of normal and resulted in a deficit of 0.17 inches for the week. The highest precipitation total for a National Weather Service Coop station was 5.53 inches at Hill City 1E in Graham County. The highest total for a Community Collaborative Rain Hail and Snow (CoCoRaHS) station was 3.15 inches at Garnett 0.4 NNE in Anderson County. The greatest total for a Kansas Mesonet station was 5.59 inches, at the Hill City station in Graham County.

Figure 1. Weekly total precipitation for Kansas during the week of June 27- July 3, 2018 via Cooperative Observer (COOP), Community Collaborative Rain Hail Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), and Kansas Mesonet.

Figure 2. Departures of weekly precipitation from normal for Kansas during the week of June 27- July 3, 2018 via Cooperative Observer (COOP), Community Collaborative Rain Hail Snow Network (CoCoRaHS), and Kansas Mesonet.

Temperature summary

Temperatures continued to be warmer-than-normal across the state. The statewide average temperature was 80.8 degrees F, or 3.6 degrees warmer-than-normal. The East Central Division had the greatest departure from normal with an average of 81.9 degrees F, or 5.0 degrees warmer-than-normal. The Northwest Division came closest to normal, with an average of 77.3 degrees F or 2.0 degrees warmer-than-normal. The highest maximum temperature was 107 degrees F at Abilene 1W in Dickinson County on the June 28th. The lowest minimum temperature was 41 degrees F at Plainville 4WNW, also on June 28th.

Figure 3. Weekly mean temperatures for Kansas during the week of June 27- July 3, 2018 via Cooperative Observer (COOP) and Kansas Mesonet.

With near-normal precipitation in some areas, the changes in drought conditions were limited. The high temperatures and low precipitation have concentrated the “Extreme Drought” in the Central Division, with some extent into the East Central and South Central Divisions (Figure 5). Based on the frequency of these conditions, we no longer have any “Exceptional Drought” in Kansas. It is important to note, however, that the difference between “Exceptional” and “Extreme” can be slight. Extreme and severe drought still indicate many negative impacts remain. The change in drought categories map (Figure 6) shows that there where changes that occurred during the week.

Figure 6. Difference in drought categories from June 26 to July 3, 2018. (U.S. Drought Monitor).

Precipitation and Temperature Outlooks for Kansas

The Quantitative Precipitation Forecast for the 7-day period, ending on July 12 shows the heaviest rainfall will be in the northwest corner of the state (Figure 7). The areas with heaviest amounts may see over an inch of precipitation. However, the rest of the state may see as little as half an inch, less than half of normal for the period. The 8 to 14-day precipitation outlook (Figure 8) indicates normal precipitation across much of the state. The temperature outlook is for an increased chance of warmer-than-normal temperatures for most of the state.